Jamal Aytes.....

[Blueintheface]

Toolson and Nixon seem like busts. I hope I am wrong.

Nixon went thru a minor stretch where he seemed moderately valuable but disappeared soon after.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Not sure that Toolsen will ever be much of a defender.

Toolson and Nixon seem like busts. I hope I am wrong.

[Pelado]

I haven't seen him play very much yet, I just saw him for a bit against Kearns on TV, so I am optimistic about the positive reviews you folks are throwing his way. I just look at him, Toolsen and Fischer and I see similar strengths and weaknesses. They all appear to me to be kids who probably are able to score well but don't defend real well. I know they all have different games per se but all 3 players seem to me that offense will definitely be their forte. My hope is that Bartley continues to improve his offense enough that he is not a total liability (I define that as improving his free throw shooting and his jump shooting so that he can hit a 3 if left all alone while continuing to be able to penetrate - if he can average 8-10 ppg and be BYU's best perimeter defender that will be huge for BYU) on offense I hope he is playing 28 mpg next year. I expect Fischer to be the starter at the 2 and play a lot as well. That leaves about 34 mpg to be picked up between Emery, Toolsen, Chatman, Seljaas and potentially Calvert. If Emery can run the point when KyleC is out, I expect we won't see much of Calvert at all. So those 34 minutes are left between basically Emery, Toolsen, Chatman and Seljaas. Unless Seljaas is significantly better than the others at scoring the ball, which I am skeptical he will be much better than Toolsen next year, and factoring in Zac's plans to serve a mission following next year I don't see the benefit of playing him over Toolsen. But, while rare, I have been wrong before. What little I saw of Zac in the state tourney left me sharing the optimism about his offensive skills but I just wonder if he is physically ready enough to defend at the level BYU will need - especially if he is on the court with anyone other than Bartley. I am hopefull that Toolsen's being in the program for a year has made him better prepared to defend adequately next year.

Not sure that Toolsen will ever be much of a defender.

[Goatnapper'96]

Compare him to Nate Hartsock.

Zac M'f'N Zeljaas.....BOOM BITCHES!

[New Mexican Disaster]

wow, four times typing Zeljaas in one post, lol.

Compare him to Nate Hartsock.

[imanihonjin]

wow, four times typing Zeljaas in one post, lol.

I thought you were intentionally combining his first and last names.

[Blueintheface]

wow, four times typing Zeljaas in one post, lol.

A new record. I'm Zeljaas.

[jay santos]

I am more interested in Seljaas? How good will he be?

wow, four times typing Zeljaas in one post, lol.

[cougjunkie]

Zeljaas will play over Toolsen. My guess is that Toolsen shoots better, but Zeljaas is better in every other area. Taller, quicker, better on the drive. Zeljaas also has the handles to play back up point guard if Emery is not up to form. Trust me. Zeljaas will be immediate impact player.

I am more interested in Seljaas? How good will he be?

[jay santos]

I haven't seen him play very much yet, I just saw him for a bit against Kearns on TV, so I am optimistic about the positive reviews you folks are throwing his way. I just look at him, Toolsen and Fischer and I see similar strengths and weaknesses. They all appear to me to be kids who probably are able to score well but don't defend real well. I know they all have different games per se but all 3 players seem to me that offense will definitely be their forte. My hope is that Bartley continues to improve his offense enough that he is not a total liability (I define that as improving his free throw shooting and his jump shooting so that he can hit a 3 if left all alone while continuing to be able to penetrate - if he can average 8-10 ppg and be BYU's best perimeter defender that will be huge for BYU) on offense I hope he is playing 28 mpg next year. I expect Fischer to be the starter at the 2 and play a lot as well. That leaves about 34 mpg to be picked up between Emery, Toolsen, Chatman, Seljaas and potentially Calvert. If Emery can run the point when KyleC is out, I expect we won't see much of Calvert at all. So those 34 minutes are left between basically Emery, Toolsen, Chatman and Seljaas. Unless Seljaas is significantly better than the others at scoring the ball, which I am skeptical he will be much better than Toolsen next year, and factoring in Zac's plans to serve a mission following next year I don't see the benefit of playing him over Toolsen. But, while rare, I have been wrong before. What little I saw of Zac in the state tourney left me sharing the optimism about his offensive skills but I just wonder if he is physically ready enough to defend at the level BYU will need - especially if he is on the court with anyone other than Bartley. I am hopefull that Toolsen's being in the program for a year has made him better prepared to defend adequately next year.

Zeljaas will play over Toolsen. My guess is that Toolsen shoots better, but Zeljaas is better in every other area. Taller, quicker, better on the drive. Zeljaas also has the handles to play back up point guard if Emery is not up to form. Trust me. Zeljaas will be immediate impact player.

[old_gregg]

that's a huge mass of words there.

kind of his thing

[pellegrino]

I haven't seen him play very much yet, I just saw him for a bit against Kearns on TV, so I am optimistic about the positive reviews you folks are throwing his way. I just look at him, Toolsen and Fischer and I see similar strengths and weaknesses. They all appear to me to be kids who probably are able to score well but don't defend real well. I know they all have different games per se but all 3 players seem to me that offense will definitely be their forte. My hope is that Bartley continues to improve his offense enough that he is not a total liability (I define that as improving his free throw shooting and his jump shooting so that he can hit a 3 if left all alone while continuing to be able to penetrate - if he can average 8-10 ppg and be BYU's best perimeter defender that will be huge for BYU) on offense I hope he is playing 28 mpg next year. I expect Fischer to be the starter at the 2 and play a lot as well. That leaves about 34 mpg to be picked up between Emery, Toolsen, Chatman, Seljaas and potentially Calvert. If Emery can run the point when KyleC is out, I expect we won't see much of Calvert at all. So those 34 minutes are left between basically Emery, Toolsen, Chatman and Seljaas. Unless Seljaas is significantly better than the others at scoring the ball, which I am skeptical he will be much better than Toolsen next year, and factoring in Zac's plans to serve a mission following next year I don't see the benefit of playing him over Toolsen. But, while rare, I have been wrong before. What little I saw of Zac in the state tourney left me sharing the optimism about his offensive skills but I just wonder if he is physically ready enough to defend at the level BYU will need - especially if he is on the court with anyone other than Bartley. I am hopefull that Toolsen's being in the program for a year has made him better prepared to defend adequately next year.

that's a huge mass of words there.

[Goatnapper'96]

I've seen Seljaas play a little bit. It's so hard to predict what kids will do when they step up a level. HS to college. College to NBA. But I am really impressed with Seljaas. If Seljaas is on the roster next year, I'll be surprised he plays less than 16 minutes a game. And he has a chance to work his way into the starting lineup. I wish he was stronger. And I wish he was more willing to use his height to mix it up inside, but man he is a skilled, athletic kid for 6'6. With all the AAU and advanced competition he's been playing for the last several years, he'll be ready to play on Day 1.

edit: I'm hacking SMR. But IIRC, I think I was the first to make the Bigelow-Seljaas comparison. hmmm....

I haven't seen him play very much yet, I just saw him for a bit against Kearns on TV, so I am optimistic about the positive reviews you folks are throwing his way. I just look at him, Toolsen and Fischer and I see similar strengths and weaknesses. They all appear to me to be kids who probably are able to score well but don't defend real well. I know they all have different games per se but all 3 players seem to me that offense will definitely be their forte. My hope is that Bartley continues to improve his offense enough that he is not a total liability (I define that as improving his free throw shooting and his jump shooting so that he can hit a 3 if left all alone while continuing to be able to penetrate - if he can average 8-10 ppg and be BYU's best perimeter defender that will be huge for BYU) on offense I hope he is playing 28 mpg next year. I expect Fischer to be the starter at the 2 and play a lot as well. That leaves about 34 mpg to be picked up between Emery, Toolsen, Chatman, Seljaas and potentially Calvert. If Emery can run the point when KyleC is out, I expect we won't see much of Calvert at all. So those 34 minutes are left between basically Emery, Toolsen, Chatman and Seljaas. Unless Seljaas is significantly better than the others at scoring the ball, which I am skeptical he will be much better than Toolsen next year, and factoring in Zac's plans to serve a mission following next year I don't see the benefit of playing him over Toolsen. But, while rare, I have been wrong before. What little I saw of Zac in the state tourney left me sharing the optimism about his offensive skills but I just wonder if he is physically ready enough to defend at the level BYU will need - especially if he is on the court with anyone other than Bartley. I am hopefull that Toolsen's being in the program for a year has made him better prepared to defend adequately next year.

[wapiti]

I'd honestly never heard the Seljaas/Bigs comparison. At least in my own mind, it was an original.

Also, I think he's a legit 6'7", but at the same time I realize who I'm arguing with

I haven't seen a ton of Seljaas but from what I've seen he has a better handle than Bigelow had. His length, athleticism, and ball handling gives him a chance to be more like Lee Cummard.

[Bo Diddley]

Really looking forward to next season already.

Hopefully in some nice new seats in the Big Mac!

This is a timely upgrade. The difference between the old and new seats is night and day.